Traditional Publishing: How It Works and Why it Matters

Yesterday I mentioned that I’ve been reconsidering whether or not traditional publishing is an avenue I’d like to pursue. This post by Kristen Lamb was one of the most eye-opening things I’ve read about the industry. Hopefully you’ll all find it as interesting as I did!

Have thoughts on the subject? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

Today, dear newbies. I am going to take you on a tour behind the curtain. Also for those who are NOT newbies, feel free to pass this to family in a “Take Your Clueless Friends Who Think You Will Make a Million Dollars as Soon as You Publish To WORK Day.”

3 thoughts on “Traditional Publishing: How It Works and Why it Matters”

I want to pursue traditional publishing, but I know it’s not going to be easy. A lot of times, I hear you have to write what is going to sell, and usually, that means betraying your own vision for your story. And after all the edits, I wonder how much of the writing is really the authors

However, I still would like to publish with an agent and publisher one day.

I respect that for some people the getting traditionally published is a personal goal. Regardless of outcome it sounds like the entire process is really valuable and you’ll likely come out of it having learned a lot. Best of luck with your publish adventure!

Since I’m one of those obnoxious people who keeps telling you to publish I’ll throw in my two cents. From most everything I’ve seen, if you have the time, the money, and the marketing skills, indie publishing is the way to go. You have complete control over your brand and your work, and you get to keep more of the royalties.

For those of us lacking the time, money, and know-how (or people who really want a movie deal), traditional publishing is a way to get someone else to shoulder most of the risk, at the cost of your artistic license. The traditional route is still a lot of time and effort for writers, because you owe it to yourself and your work to find an agent who respects and values what you’re about, and who will work to get you the best publishing deal.

If you’re willing to put the work in, there’s no bad route. It’s all about deciding what you want for your writing future, and what will fit best with your work. That’s a very short summation of the annoying amount of reading I’ve done on publishing, but I think it hits the starting points.